Playing for 90
Fansided

5 reasons Barcelona should sign Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich

By Harry De Cosemo

HAMBURG, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 24: Joshua Kimmich of Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team's winning goal during the Bundesliga match between Hamburger SV and Bayern Muenchen at Volksparkstadion on September 24, 2016 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images)
HAMBURG, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 24: Joshua Kimmich of Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team's winning goal during the Bundesliga match between Hamburger SV and Bayern Muenchen at Volksparkstadion on September 24, 2016 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
MUNICH, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 26: Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Muenchen gestures during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Allianz Arena on November 26 , 2016 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
MUNICH, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 26: Joshua Kimmich of Bayern Muenchen gestures during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Allianz Arena on November 26 , 2016 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

1. He will become an elite player soon enough

At just 21 years of age, Kimmich is showing maturity beyond his years with the German champions, having been given an opportunity in Bavaria by former Barça boss Pep Guardiola.

Obviously throwing such young players in at the deep end is a risk, but not one which either Barcelona or Bayern are scared of taking. That old saying, “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” certainly rings true for Kimmich who has shown himself to be a player for the present as well as the future.

Players like him suggest that the current success of Die Mannschaft, the German national soccer team, will last beyond the span of the current first team. A complete rethink of the sport in the whole country around 12 years ago has worked wonders, particularly for Bayern in the case of Kimmich.

So why Barça? Well, such a club needs intelligent footballers, and Kimmich has one of the finest soccer brains around. He can play in midfield or defence, and the long-term successor for Busquets, or even the current incumbent of the right-back spot, are yet to be found.

It would be tough to pull him away from the Allianz Arena, but while La Masia will never be branded a complete failure, there aren’t enough players with enough promise to step up right now. If Barcelona look elsewhere for players to develop, there are few better options around.

Home/FC Barcelona